


the great work begins

by mazabm



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aftermath, Can kinda be read platonically, Character Study, F/F, Pearl focused, Pre-Relationship, literally takes place right after, spoilers for Battle of Heart and Mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 14:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mazabm/pseuds/mazabm
Summary: Pearl and Garnet, after the end.What do two people so defined by war, do when it's over? And it's over, isn't it?Quick response and character study for Pearl after the Battle of Heart and Mind.





	the great work begins

The war is over.

They survived.  They survived, and they had no right too.

They survived and their friends did too.

They survived.

But not all of them.

And Pearl looks at Steven and sees Steven and she will never see Rose again. She had finally accepted that and then he almost died and she almost died and they all almost died but they didn’t.

It was too easy.

The final battle against the diamonds and the Renegade Pearl missed it all.  It was Rose; it was Steven who finished what she started and she can’t help but feel like she failed him.

Where were the Crystal Gems when he needed them the most?

And maybe that’s why she can’t leave right now, staring up at Rose’s picture (no longer hoping, no longer wishing it would come to life).  It’s dark, the soft sounds of the waves, Steven’s soft snores as he recovers all the sleep he lost on Homeworld.

The house is both the same and nothing like it was (Bismuth and Greg have made it their own, which is what it should have been all along).  She’s alone but she doesn’t feel like it, she feels the most surrounded by those she loves since the war and it is over.

What place does she have in a world where the war she fought to be is finally over?

She doesn’t know.  She used to think her place was raising Steven, that was the role she deserved, still serving, still loving Rose in the way she could but Steven didn’t need her anymore (and maybe he never did, maybe she wanted him to need her).  Now, she knows her worth, and well now her place is,

 

“Hey,”

“Garnet!” And she feels so foolish now, staring at this old painting. They look at each other, Garnet phrasing her new shiny visor away and Pearl realizes she’s not alone (she’s never been alone).

(They’re both the original and the first and the last Crystal Gems, they both are at a loss)

“Come on,” Garnet says, holding out her hand. “With me?”

And they don’t go back into the Temple, no Garnet pulls her away from the sleeping Steven, away from that painting and pulls her out and onto the roof and then onto one of Obsidian’s hand.  Going patiently and slowly.

She hears the soft sounds of the sea (it’s peaceful, it’s so peaceful)

They sit, on the curved rise of Obsidian’s hand, and Pearl leans against Garnet, and they stare at the stars (there is a future ahead of them that involves fixing the damage done by the Diamonds and it won’t all be on Earth, there are planets out there still fighting for freedom).

“It’s over.” Garnet whispers (and it is, the war that lasted her entire existence, that defined her, it’s over). “We made it.”  And Pearl finds that there are tears dripping down her face, silent but there and when she looks at Garnet, the tears are reflected there. It's over, it’s over.

“He did it.”  Their son, Roses son, Steven. They didn’t do it, all that build up, and they didn’t do it, they didn’t stop the Diamonds, a little boy did, their little boy reaching out his hand.

“Pearl, stop crying,”  Garnet says with a wet chuckle, wiping the tears away.

“They’re not sad tears,” Pearl says, she’s telling the truth and Garnet smiles, tears falling from her own face.

“I know,”  Garnet says, and she cries harder. “I know.”

It’s the end of a war that has gone on longer than the existence of most human countries. A war that defined them, that made them, that freed them.  They were the two original, two of the first Crystal Gems, and they now sit, holding each other and sobbing. The night sky above them, they are locked in an embrace that has been a long time coming.

They survived, against all odds, they survived and Rose may not be there anymore but she won, and they were by her side.  

They are still together, Pearl’s place is her own, and she chooses to be right here, next to Garnet, on Earth, their son sleeps inside.  He may not need her anymore but he wants her here because she is his family, they are his family. And they chose each other, they found each other and they love each other so much.

The war is over and they won and she thought she could never say that.

Garnet’s hand strokes her cheek and Pearl looks at her, purple and brilliant and shining.  They’re together and no matter what the future brings, they will stay together because they choose to, because she wants to.

They have many conversations ahead of them, so much work is to be done but for now, Garnet wipes away Pearl’s tears and Pearl wipes away Garnet’s and they’re okay and for the moment, that’s all they can be.

A shooting star crosses the sky above them, Pearl doesn’t wish for anything, she has all she needs.

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said before I think Pearl and Garnet are going to sit down and talk to each other but for now, they're holding hands and sobbing into each other arms and that's love in itself.


End file.
